owner was a d*** about my installation and basically called me dumb. Wanted to get hostile with me and charge me $40 extra when he fully got done with the installation after we already discussed the price and I showed him my car. read more

I don't think this business exists anymore. I drove to the building address and couldn't find the store. I followed the Stereo Doctor to two different locations but the reviews posted are very old. read more

First I will say that if you look at my review history, I'm very favorable towards local business because I respect local businesses offering a service to a community they reside in. I'd say it was hard to write this review given that but it wasn't given how poor the customer service was here, the total time for repairs and the cost. The short story - we were charged $275 to replace a record player cartridge that took 2.5 months to perform the labor on (we provided all the necessary parts when we dropped it off). When I got the record player back it sounded terrible. I bought an alignment and needle pressure tooL and found that both the pressure was entirely too light and the alignment was way off. No anti skating weight was added. The long story Our stylus unfortunately broke on our turntable. Being local in San Ramon - we asked for a quote to fix and were told they had to evaluate the repair which would be $75 and then quote a price. Fair. After paying the $75 - it took them over a month to get back to us. My wife and I kept calling, they kept saying they'd call us back and never did. The woman was incredibly rude and not helpful. Finally over a month after dropping off the turntable, we were told the repair would be $200. I got instant quotes from 2 other reputable shops at $150 but because they already had $75 of our money which went toward the repair, we said fine. Another MONTH AND A HALF went by of similar issues. Promises of call backs that never happened, incredibly rude interactions on the phone. Finally after 2.5 months. We got a call to come and get it. Upon asking for payment - I was informed that the $75 did not go toward the cost of the repair and that the total price was $275 and my options (in the owners words) were to pay it or they would take longer to uninstall everything and give it back to me. She also said when I told her that 2 east bay shops quoted me $150 for the repair - that their technicians offer the best service. Nice. I take the record player home hoping this awful experience was over and it sounds horrendous. A ton of static and the needle skipped frequently. Doing some research online- I found that it was likely a needle pressure and alignment issue. So I bought the tools needed to do this myself (I should have done this in the first place!) and found that the needle pressure was HALF the recommended pressure set by the cartridge company clearly listed on their website and the cartridge itself was severely misaligned. So I paid $275 and waited 2.5 months for what was the worst customer service and quality repair I've ever received from any business. Top quality technicians that couldn't set the needle pressure or align the cartridge which was 90% of the job. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY read more

DO NOT GO TO STEREO DOCTOR!!!! He is a rip off artist. He wouldn't look at my Onkyo Receiver until I forked over $75. It had a power issue. Then he wanted another 200 bucks to fix it. Hello, a new receiver with more features is under $200. So I refused his service and went to pick it up. I asked him if he knew anyone who wanted to buy it, and he said it has no value!!! How can it have no value if you want me to give you 275 bucks to fix it??? He didn't have an answer for that one. Then he asked me if I wanted him to "dispose" of it for me. Yeah, right, like you arent going to fix it and sell it in your store for 150 bucks. Believe me and the other reviewer, DONT GO TO STEREO DOCTOR!!! read more

These guys are super helpful, i walked in with my mothers turntable from the 70's, and after standing there in this tiny little shop, crowded to the ceiling with electronics and stereo equipment (but not a soul in sight), an older -and kind of awkward- guy came out from the back, which looked even more crowded than the front, and proceeded to: 1) take a look at the needle and tell me that it was in great condition and i definitely did not need to buy a new one 2) tell me the price range for needles and what kind i would need if i ever did need to change it 3) set the speed of the turntable, which i had been struggling with for over an hour 4) set the weight of the arm that actually holds the needle and he did all of this in under 5 minutes AND FREE OF CHARGE! over all he was very friendly and extremely helpful. i will definitely be back. read more

I found this company to be extremely professional and I recommend them highly. After a conversation regarding an old piece of audio equipment, Stereo Doctor suggested that I not fix the unit. They could have easily reeled me in, but instead, they took the higher road. Honesty is a rare commodity; I tip my hat to Stereo Doctor. read more

I have used them a few times now and always been pleased with the results. In response to another review about the cost of repairs vs buying new, fixing can often cost more. I have brought in some vintage pieces, though, that may lack in features, but outclass newer models in sound quality. The Stereo Doctor has brought out the best in my equipment. Plus he is extra friendly and helpful. read more

There are several disgruntled customer(Scott M.) reviews but in defense of stereo doctor this is how all businesses work. Whether auto, vacuum, sewing machine all businesses ask for some $$ down which which pays for their evaluation time. Eventually this down payment goes toward repair if customers so choose to go forward. Lesson here is to evaluate how much it would cost to replace your stereo first and then make your decision prior to spending the $75. I personally have no problem with Stereo Doctor. read more

I would echo Scott's review of 8/08. I took my 4 year old Yamaha receiver that I paid big bucks for into the Stereo Doctor on 8/4/08. It had stopped working and I figured after only four years, there was probably just a minor problem with it. I was more than willing to pay this guy's $75 diagnosis fee. I will leave out most of the story but on 9/12 (after not hearing from this guy for over 2 weeks) I called him and got exactlyy the same story as the other review. Unfortunately, I didn't read Scott's review until after the fact, but as he indicates, I would bet that I could go in there now and find my receiver for sale on his shelf. BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT USING THIS BUSINESS! IT'S A RIP. read more

I left a Proton stereo amplifier from the late 1980's with Stereo Doctor for renovation. After 2 months and $350, I got it back. No capacitors were replaced. It has occasional static, popping, and one or the other channel failure. It always hums. read more

I called today to have a pair of vacuum tubes tested. Someone answered the phone who was very polite but knew less about tubes than I do. He told me that the person that tested tubes would be in on Tuesday. The charge $75.00 per tube. I paid $60.00 per tube for what was sold to me as being NOS from the sixties. Don't know what it takes to test a tube but they really must be doctors. read more

I've used Stereo Doctor twice, both times over a few years ago, and they were excellent on all counts. I had a power supply failure on a Crown crossover which was fixed in a week (new power supply) and a Crown DC300 amp that needed some power work. I requested they run it loud for awhile to test it (an ebay buy) and it's been running flawlessly since. They are my first choice for my older stereo gear ... Don't know who else I would trust. read more